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An Oryoki Circle

We will start the 'Oryoki Circle' sometime in late January. The plan is to get together on G+, probably on a Sunday evening GMT, and practice together this most complex and beautiful of rituals.

Please ensure that you have an Oryoki set in advance of joining the circle: with three bowls that nest in each other, a setsu (spatula), a spoon, chop sticks, a napkin, drying cloth, wrapping cloth and utensil holder.

We will follow the form Jundo has set out for us in the past, based on the official Soto-Shu rules.

Here's my plan for the structure of this over eight weeks:

Week 1: An introduction to Oryoki.
Week 2: Opening the bowls.
Week 3: Receiving Food.
Week 4: Eating and taking seconds.
Week 5: Offering to the hungry ghosts and cleaning the bowls.
Week 6: Cleaning the bowls continued and wrapping up.
Week 7: Putting it all together and making mistakes.
Week 8: The meaning of Oryoki.

Hopefully the same people will attend all of these, as we learn and practice together. For those that can't make it live, I propose recording them for later viewing … so you can watch my mistakes over and over again!

Do let me know if you're interested. I aim to schedule the Circle for Sunday evenings, at 7 or 7:30PM GMT.

Thank you so much for this, Myozan. It is greatly appreciated. Recording is a great idea, a bit like Taigu's sewing lessons. I am planning on attending live but can imagine wanting to go back ad clarify certain aspects.

Hi Myozan. I am interested but will have to concoct an oryoki set as per Jundo's suggestions for Rohatsu. How long will each session be?
This is a practice I have been meaning to try since I joined Treeleaf! Gassho.

I don't think you can get a set in the UK - at least I tried & couldn't find a supplier. I bought a three bowl set in Kanshoji when I was there last summer. However, today I received a package from the US and it was a lacquered six-bowl set from the Monastery Store ( a late surprise Xmas present from my wife). So if you can't get hold of a set you're welcome to the three bowl set to practice with.

these bowls, from the Monastery store, are to my knowledge the best and identical to the real thing.

gassho

T.

Yes, speak to Myozan on the details, but almost none of the bowls one will find and purchase overseas will be fully right. For example, there are some small pieces in the set that Myozan may decide to include or not for Beginner's Practice. It all depends on how "official" and complete one wishes to be. Do you want a full Soto set sufficient for you to begin practicing at Eiheiji Monastery? That would set a dent in the bank account too (equivalent to maybe US$700 or so for real lacquer, not plastic or the like) ... The following page is in Japanese, but the photos show all the pieces in the Soto array ... Have a look scrolling down here to see some of the bowls, implements, wrappings and covers of a "real thing" Japanese Soto Oryoki set ...

One point is the the "Buddha Bowl" (the large bowl) has a fully rounded bottom according to tradition ...

... requiring it to rest on a small plate-like stand to sit flat ...

Rinzai sets are a little different in shape and configuration.

Again, these aspects may not be so important to a person just starting as a beginner (we are always all beginners!), and one might come "darn close" just with items around the kitchen, a pillow case etc. Myozan is in charge, and will tell you exactly what he wants and you need for your set, so I will defer to him and let him advise you. I would not purchase anything until you discuss it with Myozan and he tells you what you need and what he approves.

To make a long story short, most of the "Oryoki Sets" one would buy online in the West would be different in many ways from all the above ... made of some resilient artificial material, with less bowls, no "round bottom" on the main bowl, not quite "Rinzai" or "Soto" or very any tradition in bowl shape, no "water board" or lacquer "placemat" ... even maybe a fork in place of chopsticks! ... etc. etc. However, most would be fine for basic Practice, skipping a few steps (such as unfolding and placing the "placemat" if not included. One can also make a "placemat" at home using a piece of child's school construction paper!).

Here, by the way, are Oryoki Instructions from Soto-shu. It is a lovely Practice, in which body-mind is dropped away in the flow of dozens of ballet like movements ... like a dance.

Why Practice this old and arcane way of eating (so unlike the "drive-thru" culture of the West)? I once wrote this ...

Some old Japanese traditions, though old and often exotic to Western eyes, are still beautiful and of great value to our Practice. Oryoki is such a Practice. ...

True Oryoki practice is very traditional, and very Japanese (even Chinese and Korean monks in the monastery do not typically take their meals in such way), but that is neither reason to accept or reject the practice. Many parts of our Practice are worth keeping, even if they strike someone as strange at first. Bowing, statues, incense and, yes, weird talks about Koans all fit in that category. They may seem like unnecessary "Japanese" or "Esoteric" elements at first, until you understand the role they serve....same for Rakusu/Kesa sewing. And I think Oryoki formal meal ritual is a great practice, and worth keeping.

... Although a bit rigid and formal to many Western eyes, the practice of comformity to form, finding liberation in rigidity, has endless depth.

To truly 'master' Oryoki, dozens and dozens of set movements, like a ballet, must be memorized with the 'body memory' (much like learning a dance). Oryoki and the formal Japanese Tea Ceremony share much in common. Oryoki is a form of moving Zazen, teaching freedom amid the confining actions. It can NEVER be done right, without mistakes. Like life. Still, we strive to master the form.

Oryoki is a dance, a ballet ... Oryoki is one of those additions that Zen practice picked up on its way through Japan that is worth keeping. It is a shame that a large number of "foreigners" never try to do it right, and that most teachers don't teach it that way to their non-Japanese students. I am no different in how I teach it ... I will cut corners for our retreat by necessity for our annual Rohatsu Retreat, although I will encourage folks to try to get as close as possible to the "right" way.

I hope that "right" way, and the Beauty of this Practice, will come through our new "Oryoki Circle".

Hi,
I recommend the bowls from the Monestary Store mentioned above. They are the closest to the real thing and do nicely. However, even they lack a "waterboard" and "placemat" ... the things Jundo mentions above.

To my mind, do try and get the monestary store bowls. If you order soon, you should have them by late January when we'll start.

However, if these bowls are too expensive for you at the moment, get bowls AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE to the monk's bowl set in the Monestary Store:

We will aim to internalise the form no matter what bowl set we are working with. So, do the best you can for the moment. If you lack something, then improvise. Our aim will be to master the form, in our imaginations if needs be ... then you'll have the form to use when you can get an authentic set in the future.

My set lacks a waterboard and placemat, for example. So I'll have to improvise that.

Gassho
Myozan

PS: Most practice centres outside Japan seem to use a variation of the form and set. In my experience, only monks that have done Ango in Japan are required to have the full, official set. It is rare is to see the waterboard and placemat in western oryoki practice. However, we will cover all bases ... including these often omitted details. Our aim is to be as 'official' as possible, so that we are all ready for any situation ... including a stay in a Japanese monestary.

Is there any objection in using the set we gathered for the Rohatu retreat? I kind like the " drop likes and dislikes" even when it comes to the set made out of bowls that were once discarded and forgotten. Also improvising and making utensils your self, has a nice touch too it. It would make things easier for those ( like me) who really cannot afford even the cheapest set online. I am happy to hear we are primarily going to aim for the internalizing of the procedure and if this can be done in rags it can also be practiced with and a more .....colorful and humble oryoki set, no? 215 dollars for an oryoki set kinda ruins my appetite anyway, lol

Thank you for starting this project up. Its great and will add to what we do here! Another first online perhaps?

Use what you can, is my philosophy for this. However, eccentricity and quirkiness, once practicing on sesshin and in formal practice situations, would not be acceptable. On sesshin, in a zendo, one should not draw attention to themselves, with colorful zafus, wacky attire … and highly unorthodox Oryoki bowls.

Once that is understood, one can learn to fly in a flight simulator, I reckon.

Hi Sekishi,
Sorry to say it is not much like the real thing. Do the bowls nest into each other? It does not look like they do.

The big, Buddha bowl should have a smooth, curved bottom. In fact, it sits on a little stand. Your bowls look the incorrect shape and size, I am sorry to say. There are other items missing, too, in the set.

Also, do you have cloths? You could make or buy some if not.

Again, you can work with these bowls in the meantime, to internalise the form. But you will need bowls closer to the real thing at some stage.

Anyhow, the bowls nest, but the Buddha bowl does not have a lid / stand (and does not have the "rounded" shape normal to that bowl). For the rohatsu retreat I used a spatula that I cut down to the same length as a setsu, however I do have a setsu somewhere too.

Here is a photo of my set as it is currently (I did not have time to look for the setsu this morning):

I think at this point I'm most concerned with being able to participate in the study group. A high-priced "real" set might have to wait for a bit.

Thank you for your input, and for taking on the study group as a project.

Deep bows,
Sekishi

Originally Posted by Myozan Kodo

Hi Sekishi,
Sorry to say it is not much like the real thing. Do the bowls nest into each other? It does not look like they do.

The big, Buddha bowl should have a smooth, curved bottom. In fact, it sits on a little stand. Your bowls look the incorrect shape and size, I am sorry to say. There are other items missing, too, in the set.

Also, do you have cloths? You could make or buy some if not.

Again, you can work with these bowls in the meantime, to internalise the form. But you will need bowls closer to the real thing at some stage.

All will become apparent!

Gassho
Myozan

sekishi
石志

As a novice priest-in-training, this is simply an expression of my opinion. Please take it with a grain of salt.

Hi again.
Just to restate: we will work with what you've got. If the bottom of your Buddha bowl is not orthodox, find a small dish to slip underneath as a stand. We will use our imaginations and improvise. We will get on just fine.

And, just to say again, I, too, am a student with you. I look forward to learning right alongside you all.